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Winston Edwards

Page history last edited by PBworks 16 years, 6 months ago

Biography

Winston Edwards started as a business associate of Joe Gibbs. In 1973-1974 he issued several sides on the DIP label through an arrangement with Dennis Harris. Songs such as I-Roy's »Don't Get Weary Joe Frazier« (a deejay version to Tony Brevett's »Don't Get Weary«), Big Joe's »Selassie Skank« and »Weed Specialist« and the Gaylads hit song »You Made A Mistake«. At the time also two other Winston production were released on Magnet - Dennis Walks' »Don't Play That Song« and the obscure Wally Brown's »Send Back The Rod«. There weren't regarded as high as his DIP output though.

 

Setting up Fay Music ('74 - '77)

Edwards set up his own Fay Music label from Jah Shaka's house in nearby Alpha Road. Winston was also at this time recording material in Jamaica, pressing them there and then bringing them to the UK and selling them as pre-releases. In 1974 he also began the short lived imprint Stop Point, that had success with the Gregory Isaacs song »Love of the World«.

 

In 1975 Edwards opened his Fay Music record shop in southeast London's New Cross, nearby the DIP premises. The greatest success for the label was the monumental album »King Tubby Meets The Upsetter At The Grass Roots Of Dub« which remained for three months at the top of Black Music's reggae chart. It was also to become the best LP in 1975 in the UK. Production was done by Edwars himself and as the title explains the mixing was done by the dub pioneers King Tubby and Lee Perry. The album was fundamental in the wider acceptance of dub in the UK. He followed up the album with to other albums that even though they were critically acclaimed didn't become as big successes - »King Tubby Surrounded By The Dreads At The National Arena« and »Natty Locks Dub«.

 

There was also a couple of successful singles on Fay Music such as Augustus Pablo's »Fort Augustus Rock«, U Brown's »Wet Up Your Pants Foot« and Leo Grahams »Greedy Girl«. A negative detail with these singles was the pressings (believed to be from Language Specialists Linguaphone) that were often marred by a fuzzy sound. The label released no new products for large parts of 1976 and throughout the following year.

 

'78 and onwards

In the early 1978 Winston Edwards closed down his Fay Music outlet and went on to manage Joe Gibbs Record Glove shop in Lewisham Way. He also launched his Studio 16 label here. He worked there to the start of the 80's and the shop seem to have folded when Joe Gibbs was having various legal problems (with JC Lodge's »Someone Loves You Honey«).

 

Winston Edwards was also something of an aspiring politician in Jamaica but he probably never followed a political path.

 

After the Fay Music premises were abandoned in the early 80's by Winston they were apparently taken over by Jah Shaka. Nowadays they do house West Indian-run businesses.

 

Source

  • Michael de Koningh & Marc Griffiths, Tighten Up - The History of Reggae in the UK (2003), Sanctuary Publishing Ltd

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